One of the main excuses I used in the past was that I simply did not have the time to exercise. In reality most of us lead hectic lives with busy schedules and even with the best of intensions we struggle to find time to exercise. If you find you can’t find the time to exercise try fitting it in to your daily routine by walking or running part or even all of the way to work. Another great strategy is to buy an exercise DVD that can fit into your schedule. Although DVD’s require you to have more motivation because you are in the comforts of our own home, you can help keep your motivation high by placing it in your diary and treating the entry as a deadline. It is helpful to then set an alarm to remind you when to begin your work out.

Thankfully, there are many forms of exercise. Whilst running may not be for you there are many other options.

According to national statistics compiled by the Health and Social Care Information Centre around one in five British men and woman were obese in 2011. These figures rose sharply since 1993 and, if history is to be believed, are set to continue to rise.

Although we all know that exercising is good, for most of us it stays low on our list of priorities. Often we have the intention to tackle exercise once our to do lists have been taken care of – an impossible task considering they are constantly being added to.

The truth is that our inactive lives can lead to many health problems, both physically and mentally. Coronary heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure and poor mental health can all result from being inactive.